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My name is Nathan Dos Reis I am a Boy Scout in Troop 20, Squanto District, Old Colony Council. Our troop is located at 400 Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. I am a senior at New Bedford High School and I am enjoying this final year in high school.

Stories – Youth Philanthropy

Wareham Middle School, Student Philanthropists

By: Evelyn Chase, Grade 7

“Philanthropy is about promoting the welfare of others. That is exactly what the organization GiftsToGive is all about. I have been to GiftsToGive five times now and during every single group orientation tour they tell us “50,000”. Then one of us always asks the obvious question; 50,000 what?

It may be silly that I remember that number but I also remember what comes after it as well. 50,000 is the number of children living locally in poverty. This statement always gets to me. What this means is that one of your friends, that person you thought was odd on the bus, or even a complete stranger, could or is living in poverty. So hold on and let me explain a little bit more. The definition of poverty is the state of being extremely poor. And although I may be going a little bit off topic with this one, it is extremely important. Just because you may think you know everyone’s situation you really don’t and that is what GiftsToGive in my opinion promotes.

Turning five years-old is something very special. Especially for twins! Understanding philanthropy at five … well talk about making our day!

Saturday afternoon, two ball players arrived at the mill with a zillion brand new toys in tow. They explained to us that they wanted to help children who were not as fortunate as they were and who might not get a birthday present.

Parents Kathryn and Dennis had this to say –“It is truly our pleasure to be able to contribute. Our boy’s just turned five years old and had a wonderful party with family and friends. We have been truly blessed with two wonderful healthy boys, a loving family and many friends. We know that there are many in the community that are less fortunate than us, and we feel it is important to help others and give back whenever possible.

The longest journey begins with a single step. The first step in this story started with an email from Carolyn, Hadleigh and Braelyn’s mom – “On 1/19 my daughters are turning 8 and 10. I am interested in having them and some friends volunteer at GiftsToGive as part of their party on 1/18. I see stories of kids that had friends bring presents to donate instead of birthday presents for them, could the girls and their guests also volunteer their time?”

Carolyn sent a follow-up email after the girls’ visit –“As parents, we try our best to teach our daughters about being thankful for their blessings and look for opportunities to give back to those in need.”

We literally were overwhelmed with a huge donation of great new toys and other items on Saturday from FOUR year-olds, Lily and Matthew.

We work everyday at receiving donations from some very remarkable people, lots of them children, but this donation was overwhelming for us. It was overwhelming not only for the volume of the things we received but for how and why they came to us. We were so busy the day they arrived we really didn’t get to hear the whole story. We emailed their mother and asked for details. What we got back was the best email in recent memory.

Johnathan who is a sophomore at Bishop Connolly High School has been volunteering with us since he was in the 7th grade. Jonathan has set a record for helping Newport County Rhode Island families and is now recruiting fellow students to do the same.